Not What You'd Expect
by theMidnightWolf
Summary: Yami gets his own body, and sets his sights on Tea'. A relationship seems inevitable, but it's not gonna be easy...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, that one Japanese dude does. Cuz if I did there'd be more romance and action, less "I'm going to beat you as I talk for 30 minutes!"

By the way, this is my first-ever fic, so I hope you all enjoy the okayness of inexperience.

Rated T (?) for cursing, violence…all that fun stuff

Not What You'd Expect

Chapter 1-After the Final Battle

So that was it. Yugi and Yami, the pharaoh, had dueled. And it had been a draw. So neither gained or lost anything, much to everyone's surprise. Yami would stay in Yugi's era, and using the collected Millennium Items, get a body of his very own. He and Yugi could then live together as brothers, at least for a little while. Now Yugi and Yami, Tea', Joey, and Tristan were heading to the museum to do just that. Yugi wasn't saying anything, but he was a little sad to have his partner leave his mind. Yami sensed this.

"_Yugi, what's the matter? You're down, I can sense it."_ Yami's voice echoed in Yugi's head. Yugi started at the sound, making Joey cast him a weird look.

"I'm okay…I guess I'm just a little sad to be separated from you. I mean, you're my partner, we've fought nearly every duel together…it's going to be different."

"_Yes, it will be different, but that is no reason to fret. I'll always stand by you, you know that. Besides, you proved in your duel that you don't need my help anymore, and for that I am proud of you. Now I can take a break, and we can simply be partners in different bodies." _Yami's words made Yugi feel better, and he walked into the museum with comfort.

"Dis' place always kind of freaked me out," Joey said, eyeing the place like it was haunted. "I'm always expectin' some wacko-possessed freako to come after me!"

"Joey, it's just a museum. It won't bite you." Tea' muttered annoyed.

"But what if it does! Then whata' my supposed ta do!" Joey was acting paranoid again.

"We'll all be better off," Tristan teased. "Uh-oh, Joey, that mummy looks angwy!" He laughed. And then Joey punched him in the gut. So another of their famous fights broke out, and they had nearly broken a priceless artifact when Tea' and Yugi broke them up.

"I see some things never change. Always a fight with you two, isn't there? But please, not in my museum." The enigmatic voice of Ishizu silenced the bickering teens. Now Yugi's Millennium Puzzle activated, a bright golden light streaming from the eye of Horus. The eyes of Yugi's body were no longer that of a boy's, but of a man's. The 5,027-year-old pharaoh turned to Ishizu, his violet eyes eager. Ishizu bowed.

"How may I serve you, my pharaoh?" She asked most respectfully.

"I wish to use the Millennium Items to free my partner of his burden and receive a body of my own, if that's not a problem." His deep voice filled the room.

_He always thinks of others before himself,_ Tea' thought. _He always looks out for Yugi. He's really sweet that way…_Tea' felt her face get hot and her heartbeat increase as she looked at him. Only Serenity knew that she had quite the crush on Yugi's alter ego. She always had, really. Ever since he had saved her from some freaky stalker guy. Since that time she had been on two dates with him and many adventures, and her feelings for him only grew. It was now on the borderline between liking and loving. Yet she was sure he'd never feel the same…a hand waved in her face.

"Hello, earth to Tea' Gardner, who I'm pretty sure was checking out the pharaoh. You okay?" Tristan's irritating voice interrupted Tea's' daydream. Tea' fumed.

"Tristan, what the hell? I wasn't checking anybody out, I was just thinking!" A blush heated her face. Tristan grinned like a monkey who saw the unlocked cage door.

"Thinking of checking him out?" Tristan got his second punch to the gut, and began cursing to himself as they walked to the room where the others had gone.

The door shut behind them. The room was dim; the only light was shining on the items. Everyone was silent, save Ishizu, who turned to the pharaoh.

"Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Ishizu began muttering Egyptian words to the puzzle, and all the items in the room glowed. The light stream from the seven eyes of Horus connected, and soon the pharaoh was glowing as well. The room was blindingly bright. Yami felt his mind get pulled somewhere he had never been. All was black for him, except for strange looking people, some who were obviously Egyptian, and others who were from the modern era. He even saw what looked like parts of Mai, Tea', Joey, and Yugi. He then realized what he was seeing: victims of the Millennium Items. A pang entered his heart, but then they all started chanting. He shut his eyes because it became bright, and when he opened them they had disappeared, and he was back in the museum. He looked at his friends, all who were wide-eyed. He looked next to him, and there was…Yugi! The spell had worked!

Yami looked at his own hands, smiling as he did. Yugi piped up.

"WOW YAMI YOUHAVEYOUROWNBODYAWESOME!" Yugi screeched happily, hugging him. Their friends laughed and joined in, congratulating them. While the guys were messing with Yugi, Tea' walked up hesitantly to Yami.

"I'm glad you have your own body now," She said nervously. "How does it feel?"

"I haven't had my own body in 5,000 years, so…it's…different. But I like it." He smiled at her warmly, causing her to blush noticeably.

_Yup,_ he thought to himself. _I'm definently gonna ask her out._


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! If I did, the Yugi vs. Kaiba duel wouldn't have taken up a week…sigh…those darn American translators…I also don't own Mario Cart. Rated: T, maybe T+ depending on where this goes. Not What You'd Expect Chapter 2 

"Wow…they're…uh…really obsessive, huh?" Yami mumbled to Tea'.

"Yeah…they just keep going and going and…"

"Really wish Joey would stop that Raforsaken moaning"

"Tristan's grunting isn't doing me any favors…" Tea' said annoyed.

The two still continued to watch the guys play Mario Cart 4. It had been three days since the museum visit. Yami was still getting used to his new body, as well as Domino Town's cold winter temperatures, so everyone was at Tristan's house. Yugi and Bakura were talking in the kitchen (wonder why), Serenity was cheering Tristan on and not her own brother, and Tea' and Yami were on the couch. Everyone was pretty much enjoying themselves, except Joey, who was losing again, and Yami, who found the world quite colder than ancient Egypt. Tea' was trying her best to help him stay warm, but nothing seemed to work. Not the heater, not a jacket, nothing. Tea' felt herself going ballistic.

"You never had any trouble with the cold before!" She said, desperately.

"I felt temperatures the way Yugi felt them, which is why I think he's crazy now."

They were interrupted by Joey screaming "DAMMIT!" at the top of his lungs, as well as Tristan's mother, who said it was time for chores. Which meant everyone had to leave.

"It is SO COLD." Yami mumbled. Tea' glanced at the thermometer on her watch. 30 degrees F. _I guess that's pretty cold._ At last, she got an idea.

"Yami, have you ever had hot chocolate before?" she asked.

"Uh…no. Never actually heard of it either."

"Well, you're trying some today!" Tea' announced gleefully. She grabbed his hand and broke into a run. Yami felt his face go red at the touch of her hand. Suddenly, it really wasn't so cold anymore.

They finally stopped running when they reached Tea's' driveway. Both were panting and out of breath. Yami was the first to speak.

"Are those Christmas reindeer?" he asked, pointing to the light bulb covered animals on her roof.

"Yeah. It was hard getting them up there, but I think it was worth it."

Yami stared at her quizzically. "You did that by yourself? Why didn't your parents help?" He watched as Tea's' usual happy expression faded to one of pain.

"They were…" She stopped and shut her eyes for a second. "They were away." She then shot him the most fake smile he'd ever seen in his life. Now he knew something was amiss, and he intended to find out what…as soon as they were out of the cold.

Once they were inside, Tea' led Yami to the kitchen and got him to sit down while she made the drinks. Yami took this time to gaze at his new surroundings. The kitchen was small but comfy, with wood flooring that reached across the entire first floor of the house. The living room they had passed on their way to the kitchen was a pretty average size, and contained a couch, loveseat, and television set. The house seemed fairly small for a three-person family to Yami. Unless three people didn't live here...

"Are your parents always out?" Yami decided to ask as Tea' set the drink in front of him. Her eyes held a look of surprise, mixed with hurt.

"How'd you guess?"

"It's easy to see that this house is not very much lived in. Actually, it looks like you're the only one who's ever lived here." Now Tea' looked alarmed, and Yami knew he had guessed correctly. "Tea'…" he murmured to her.

Yami suddenly grabbed Tea's' hands and pulled her into a warm embrace. He could sense that she wanted to cry but was too embarrassed to. He could feel her trembling ever so slightly, but she didn't pull away from him. Now if he could just get her to tell him what happened…he gently rubbed her back with his right hand. The smell of salt was getting stronger as he kept it up. Finally he knew what to say.

"You know it's okay to cry, don't you? I won't mind." He felt her shake, and knew she'd probably rather die than cry all over him. He smiled softly.

"The fact that you're crying on me doesn't mean you're weak, Tea'. If anything, it proves your strength. It takes trust to do this in front of someone…so I thank you."

Tea' looked up at him bewildered, her eyes shining with new tears ready to fall.

"I should be thanking you. You're the one sitting here letting me cry on you for no real apparent reason…sigh…I want to tell you why, but…I…can't seem to say…uh-"

Yami put a finger to her lips. "There is a way for me to know without you having to say anything, but…it requires a lot of trust, and your permission," Yami said quietly, a tinge of hope in his voice. "I could form a mind bond with you. That means I'd be able to go inside your mind, and have you lead me to where the memory is. I understand that this is a lot at once, and I'm not going to force you. It's just an idea. What do you say?"

Tea' looked very hesitant at first, but after a minute nodded her hear resolutely. Yami smiled. "I'm honored by your trust in me." The eye of Horus appeared on his forehead, glowing a beautiful prism of colors. Yami leaned his head close to Tea', and for a sweet moment she thought he was going to kiss her, but their foreheads were the only thing that touched, to her heart's disappointment. Then the kitchen disappeared.

Tea' was now inside her mind with Yami, who was chuckling.

"Sorry Tea', I didn't mean to tease you when I leaned in…heh heh."

"HEY I DIDN"T SAY YOU COULD READ MY MIND I SAID YOU COULD COME IN!" she screeched, her face rivaling the redness of a cola can.

"Okay, okay I'm sorry! I'll make it up to you." he suddenly replied sneakily. Then with no warning he kissed her cheek. "Am I forgiven?" he asked sweetly. Tea' looked stunned, and fell back on a beanbag chair that had appeared out of no where. She nodded dazedly. Yami found himself laughing again, and knelt beside her.

"So, do you think you can lead me to this memory, or will I have to carry you while you give directions?" he asked her simply. Tea' shot up at that, embarrassed at the thought of being carried. "Right this way!" she said blushing madly.

And they made their way to a door covered in thorns…


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, cause if I did Buster Blader would have kicked real ass against Strings. Instead they caged him and sent out Slyther. (Sob) Oh, btw, sorry it took so long to update. School, band, homework, Petco shift…it's a lot…'

Not What You'd Expect- Chapter 3

"Well, that's quite the inviting type of door, isn't it?" Yami teased. He had a point-the door was covered in malicious-looking thorns, some brown, some crimson. There was no handle, and the door was made of some type of steel. Tea' shrugged.

"Yeah, well, it's not exactly a happy memory. What'd you expect, flowers and bunnies?" (I promise, no pun on title)

"Well, no. So how do we open it?" At this Tea' looked a bit perplexed, but then she smiled.

"Uhhhh…actually, I have no idea. I've never had reason to open it, it usually does it on it's own. I don't think I control it, really."

"No, this is your mind Tea'. You control everything in here, directly or indirectly. What holds anything back from you in here is your own doing, even if you don't realize it. My guess is that you fear the memory, and you're automatically keeping the door shut. But, you know that I won't turn from you regardless of what I see in here. I'm your…friend." The last part came out awkwardly, and not because he was having second thoughts. Tea' almost misinterpreted it, but Yami caught on.

"Sigh. No, no, I'm sure about being your friend, don't worry yourself. It's just…well… how to say it! Well…what the heck." He leaned over and kissed her cheek again.

"You see what I'm trying to say?" He asked her, stifling a laugh at her red face.

"Uh, I think so…" Her face became sure and she smiled softly.

And then the door opened and sucked them into it.

"Nnnnh…ouch…" Yami opened his eyes to hazy vision. "Why'd your mind have to vacuum us in Tea'? Tea'?" The girl was unconscious. Great, Yami sulked.

He took time to observe his new surroundings. For having such a freaky, violent door, the room wasn't half bad. Actually, it was kind of empty except for a letter on the ground. Naturally, Yami picked it up. All it read was 'I'll be back soon, don't you worry.' Yami stared at it glumly. It was signed by…her uncle? "Ooooookay, what does this have to do with your parents?" he asked the sleeping girl wonderingly. Without warning, the letter folded itself into a paper crane, flew five feet away from Yami, and exploded. The impact sent Yami hurtling back towards Tea', who he grabbed, and then he shoved himself in a protective position against her. When the smoke and scraps of burning paper cleared, all that remained was a tiny glowing vortex of light. It opened itself, and suddenly Yami was inside it.

All Yami could see was a flashback right now, and the holder of it in his arms. It looked light Tea' was about 8 here, a pretty long time ago. She was behind the door to the kitchen listening to her mom, who sounded beside herself.

"Toya's coming back! Oh god Suke', what are we going to do! He's gonna kill us!"

Yami saw the younger Tea's' eyes widen in fear, but she didn't move. Her mom continued.

"We don't have the money to pay him back, he knows where we live, God only knows what he has planned for us!" She broke down into sobs. "Leave, and take Tea' with you."

"No, we're family. What you face, we face together. Calm down. Now Aurora, did he say when he was to return?"

Yami smiled a little, now knowing where Tea' got some of her personality from. He watched as her younger self leaned in closely to the door.

"He said sometime this week. We could pack up and leave before then, I guess. We couldn't take too much, or tell many people. We'd have to get new jobs."

Yami watched Tea's' eyes cast to the floor, tearing up as they did. She perked up as the conversation continued again.

"Whatever it takes to keep you and Tea' from your brother is what we'll do. I won't have my only daughter being sold or working in that line of 'business'. I won't let him near you as well. We'll stay safe, even if it means moving." Suke' said firmly. By now Tea' looked angry, obviously at the idea of moving. She stalked over to a drawer in her room, opened it, and pulled out a birthday card. It contained ten dollars and had a sweet message inside. It was from her uncle.

"I'll just call Uncle Toya and ask him if he's dangerous…" Tea's' immature, innocent voice mumbled. "He would tell me."

"Oh Ra…" Yami's voice echoed. The dimension he was in fogged over, meaning the memory was forwarding itself to a later time (Not to an earlier time, since a flashback inside of a flashback is confusing). Now it appeared to be a few days later, and Tea's' family was packed and ready to go, a very disgruntled Tea' lagging behind in the living room. Tea' was arguing stubbornly about leaving.

"I don't see why we hafta leave, Uncle Toya said he's not dangerous."

"He what? Oh God Tea', please don't tell me you-" "Called me?" Tea's' mother was interrupted by none other than Toya himself. Suke' shifted himself protectively in front of Aurora and Tea', glaring at the unwanted visitor.

"Toya, get out of my house." He threatened him, eyes flashing brightly. Toya simply grinned, eyes mocking his brother-in-law.

"Or what? Is that any way to treat family? I mean, besides calling a devoted member of it 'dangerous', of course. You can thank your precious little daughter for my knowledge of that, as well as my being here, right before you were gonna take a little trip. Do you forget that you owe me money?" He snickered nastily.

"Another month and we can pay you back completely, Toya! Please don't do anything drastic!-"

"Look who's talking, the entire family all packed up and ready to go. And _I'm_ being drastic. And I'm not waiting another month, I've been waiting for a year, and if you can't pay me back…well, maybe Tea' should come live with me. If you can't pay me back, obviously you can't support her, so-"

"Over my dead body Toya! Get out of my house now, filth!" Suke' was enraged to the point of violence from what Yami could tell. But Toya only smiled. He beckoned to Tea'.

"They're trying to separate us Tea'. They're taking you away from the home you love. Come here, Sweetie. Show them how you feel."

Yami saw that Toya had a pistol in his back pocket and realized what he was attempting.

"Oh HELL no!" Yami sprang at the man, fist aimed for his jaw, but he went right through him. He cursed loudly for no one to hear, as the older Tea' was unconscious.

The memory of Tea' looked hesitant, but she trotted over to him and took his hand. With that single kind, sweet movement, Toya wrenched an arm around her neck and held the gun to her head. She began crying in fear. Suke's' eyes became furious and mortified at the same time. Aurora screamed and made an attempt to charge at her brother, but Suke' stopped her.

"Toya, please let her go. She didn't do anything to you." His voice was hollow and quiet.

"HAhahahaha! What's this? One second we're all threats, but NOW we're a little more polite, aren't we? Oh, I'm lovin' this!"

"Toya, she loves you…" Suke' pleaded in the same voice. Toya looked hesitant for a split second, but grinned again.

"I love her too. In fact, I'm sure most of my customers will too."

And that was the last straw for Suke'. Lightning fast, he struck a hard blow to his jaw, and as he recovered he yelled.

"Run Tea'! Get out of here NOW!" Unblinkingly, Tea' did as she was told, frightened tears streaming down her face.

And as she neared the end of the street she watched Toya's van screeched by her unconscious father and screaming mother in the cargo area.

The realm became black, and Yami started at feeling a hand on his back.

"And now you know." Tea' said through tears.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't freaking own Yu-Gi-Oh, cause if I did Tristan would have had one voice, not two (Did anyone ever notice that? In the English sub he started with one voice and a few episodes later it changed).

Also, I am incredibly sorry for vanishing for so many years. I won't bore you with the reasons, so I'll just offer a cyber-feast with your favorite food included, hugs, and my apologies. And on we go!

Not What You'd Expect- Chapter 4

After witnessing the memory the teenagers promptly returned to the real world, in which Yami further consoled Tea' and the two finally drank their not-so-hot chocolate. After a few minutes of silence it was Yami who spoke first.

"So did your uncle actually write you a letter saying he was coming for you? It was in that room before the actual memory started."

Tea sighed, sounding somewhere between nervous and defeated, and replied, "Yeah. I got it a few days ago. It's the first I've heard from him in a while. He usually writes once a month to make to make sure I'm still here, to keep track of me…"

"All this time you were going through this and you didn't tell me?" Yami asked, sounding despondent.

"Please don't be upset, it's not that I didn't trust you or the guys, it's that I was afraid Toya might find out and harm you guys or take you away as well…and on top of that, you all had plenty of your own problems—"

"None of which were even comparable to yours." Yami interrupted, amazed that she would even use that as an excuse.

"The problems of my friends are problems of mine, especially in your case," Tea' replied with a slight blush. "And anyway, what would telling people solve? Toya has kept tabs on me and he hasn't done anything since then. There isn't much I can even do about it."

"Maybe not alone, but together we can do something. Tea', yours parents could be alive! We could bring Toya to justice and you could have a family again! Or you could at least have closure!" Yami exclaimed emphatically.

Tea' gave him a pained look. "I used to keep telling myself that, but I don't want to get my hopes up that they could be…I-I just don't see how they could be by now."

"But we don't know for sure. They could be held captive somewhere, and we have a chance to save them if this is the case. Or at least we could liberate the people working unwillingly in your uncle's trade. Doing something is far better than letting things stay as they are, especially if the latter involves you becoming a captive yourself. And frankly, I don't intend to lose you any time soon." Yami pressed. _Actually, I don't ever intend to lose you_, Yami added mentally.

Tea' was amazed at Yami's concern for her family as well as his willingness to help her find them; she had always known him to be sweet, but this far surpassed any expectations she had for him. And on top of that he sounded protective of her…she could practically feel herself falling deeper for him. The thought of having him by her said gave her courage and strengthened her resolve.

"Okay Yami…" She assented, and that was all she had time to say before he swept her up into one of many hugs they would share.

They decided that they would start planning the next morning, due to Tea's emotional exhaustion and Yami's requirement of time to think about options. They moved into the living room and watched the evening news on the couch, both unabashedly leaning against the other. They managed to pay attention to half an hour of late-night comedy before both of them became sleepy.

And that was how the teenagers ended up asleep together on the couch, causing Yugi unnecessary worry, granting Tristan and Joey with perfect blackmail material (should they find out), and giving the two of them something to blush about in awkward silences the following morning.


End file.
